California

…The Crab Cooker lures seafood lovers by the southern California seashore. Boatloads of restaurants serve tasty seafood in southern California. But the Crab Cooker, located just about a block from the famous Newport Beach pier, hooked my family long ago! Avid fishermen and chef Bob Roubian began the casual eatery in 1951. As…

…While heading through northern California, we spent a peaceful hour contemplating the beauty of the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden, located in the Klamath National Forest, near Weed. Created by veterans, the garden showcases about a dozen larger-than-life metal sculptures created by Vietnam veteran Dennis Smith, with Mount Shasta as a magnificent backdrop. One…

…festivals, too; we plan to return to see if they’re as much fun as this one! Indio is on I-10, just southwest of Joshua Tree National Park and roughly 25 miles southeast of Palm Springs in southern California. The festival starts 10 days before the last Sunday in February (that’s February 17-26 in 2006)….

…Most people think of Palm Springs, California as the playground of the rich and famous. But it’s also home to the loveliest palm-filled canyons in the world. I discovered this at Indian Canyons, owned by the Agua Caliente band of the Cahuilla Indians and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The…

…I’ve never tried surfing. But I dove right into the sport’s history at the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum in Santa Cruz, California, overlooking the famous Steamer Lane surfing spot. Housed in a little brick lighthouse and staffed by surfing enthusiasts, the museum showcases surfing memorabilia donated by area surfers. You’ll see early surfboards,…

…I found myself enchanted by tranquil Gravity Garden in California, a private sculpture garden located little more than a stone’s throw from Carmel, along the scenic Big Sur coastline. Wandering past dozens of rock towers of various sizes was like walking through a forest of stony totem poles dating back to primeval times….

…I never expected to find an Abraham Lincoln museum in southern California. But the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands showcases the largest collection of Lincoln and Civil War memorabilia west of the Mississippi River. Opened in 1937, the limestone-faced building stands in a quiet grassy park. Inside this tiny jewel, I marveled at…

…Waterfalls are abundant in northern California, but the remote town of Dunsmuir boasts two cascades that are easy to reach. Hedge Creek Falls is in Hedge Creek Park on the north side of Dunsmuir, just west of I-5. The trail to the 30-foot-high falls starts by a picturesque little picnic area with great…

…Located high in the Mojave Desert, Pioneertown USA looks and feels like an Old West ghost town. But this unusual spot outside the town of Yucca Valley, California and Joshua Tree National Park dates back to only 1946–it was built to film movies and house the casts and crews! Named for Roy Roger’s…

…Little-known Fern Canyon, located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park north of Orick, was a highlight of a trip my husband and I took along northern California’s coast. The canyon is about 5 miles from the park’s visitor center via a bumpy dirt road (no vehicles wider than 8 feet wide or longer…

…Western Sonoma County, California is one of my favorite places. This coastal region about an hour north of San Francisco is filled with majestic natural beauty, lovely places to stay and friendly people. I like to start my journey at Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve, just outside Guerneville on State Highway 116. This 500-acre…

The next time you’re in San Diego, I highly recommend a drive out to Ramona to see the Guy B. Woodward Museum, a fascinating collection of artifacts that reflect the area’s colorful Old West history. The museum is actually a complex of buildings that includes the lovely Verlaque House, a rare 1866 adobe…

…around $500,000 in a San Jose, California storage unit that he purchased for only $1,100. The unit went up for auction after an elderly woman passed away leaving behind a Rubbermaid container full of treasure, Laura Dotson of American Auctioneers told ABC News. Moreover, while it may be hearsay, the websiteStorageAuctionCentral.com claims to have received…

…the more psychoactive strains. Is it legal for to use medical marijuana to treat epilepsy? Depending on your state’s medical marijuana laws, you may be able to obtain CBD oil for you or your child’s condition. States like Colorado, California, and Oregon have policies in place- where many other states have the subject on the…

…the macro-like nature of these butterfly pictures results in the wrong feature being in focus. The picture of many Monarch butterflies on a branch was taken in California. Up and down the California coast you’ll find the winter resting grounds. You can get too close to the butterflies, so a zoom lens is a must….

…high blood pressure, and cataract surgery. Extremely high stress may also be a factor. A California study(*) of 33 people who had suffered detached retinas concluded that the problem can be precipitated by highly stressful situations that cause a sudden surge in blood pressure. As pressure increases, fluid is forced from the capillaries behind the…

…This national park does a good job of living up to its harsh name. It is the lowest, hottest, and driest place in the United States. And year, it’s 3.3 million acres which span California and Nevada are considered to be both tranquil and beautiful. Although I don’t think its a strong enough an…

…in children, During an epidemic of chickenpox in California in the early 1990s, 28 children developed invasive strep A when their skin blisters became infected with the organism. Five of these children died. Fortunately, the infection does not appear to be as contagious as the more common strep strain that causes a strep throat. The…

…when, like the Spaniards before him, he was introduced to the chinchilla. He took an immediate liking to the little guys and hoped that he could take a few of them home to California as pets. The export of chins was illegal, however, he eventually persuaded the authorities to permit him to take eleven chins…

…A NY Times blog is reporting that many of the situations on the Man vs. Wild show presented to viewers as naturally occurring are in fact staged. Some examples of this deception include: “While filming in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains – an episode in which Grylls, 33, is seen biting off the head of…

…violet chinchilla was born in Rhodesia, Africa in 1960 and was later sold to Loyd Sullivan’s farm in California. Light Pastel Light pastel chinchillas are generally the first generation offspring of ebony and beige chinchillas. They resemble a beige in color as adults, but when they are born, they are almost near white in color….

…“I survived the climb” button to prove it! California gray whales migrate south past the lighthouse from December through February and north from March through May. Other whales stay in the area through the summer. Before you leave, don’t miss the tide pools, both the natural ones at Cobble Beach (on the south side of…